Praying in a Certain Place<\/strong><\/p>\n Lectionary Reflection on Luke 11:11-13<\/strong><\/p>\n For July 25, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n This week\u2019s text continues the theme of discipleship we have been following since the parable of the Good Samaritan.\u00a0 These thirteen verses cover a lot of ground.<\/p>\n Though I\u2019m going to focus in what follows on verses 1-4, I can\u2019t resist offering a brief word on the parable of the Friend at Midnight. This is a parable unique to Luke\u2019s gospel. It speaks of God\u2019s willingness to hear and answer our prayers (unlike the grumpy homeowner). It speaks of our need to persevere in prayer, confident that God will answer us. The metaphor of bread evokes both spiritual and physical nourishment.\u00a0 In first century Palestinian villages, hospitality was highly valued. You served the freshest bread to visitors, even if they came in the middle of the night. Everyone baked at a communal oven, so everybody knew who had the freshest bread. The reason the friend was knocking on the man\u2019s door was probably because he knew that household held the freshest bread. With regard to verses 9 and 10, they are proverbs Jesus made up (technically called aphorisms when we know the author). Proverbs grow out of personal experience. So I can only conclude that Jesus taught verses 9 and 10 because he had found them to be true in his own life.<\/p>\n Now we turn our attention to verses 1-4 of chapter 11.<\/p>\n I think an interesting three-act sermon could grow out of the theme \u201cPraying in a Certain Place.\u201d\u00a0 Or another possible title would be \u201cPraying for Certain.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n NOTE: If you\u2019re following the sermon series theme \u201cHow Not to Be A Disciple<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d you can play the opposites game with each point: don\u2019t pray regularly, don\u2019t pray like Jesus, and don\u2019t pray with faith. <\/strong><\/p>\n As I prayerfully read through this text, I noticed that it began with Jesus \u201cpraying in a certain place.\u201d I wonder if the disciples knew where it was. I can\u2019t tell from the text if they came to him there or when he had returned to them. I wonder why the text doesn\u2019t specify where this \u201ccertain place\u201d was. It seems coy or secretive. Or maybe it opens it up to us, to the fact that praying is not limited to one certain place. Maybe it opens things up to us, to think about what the certain place is where we pray. Not just physically. But what places in our lives- temptation, regret, bereavement, are the certain places we need to pray. This prayer Jesus prayed \u201cin a certain place\u201d grounds us, guides us in the uncertain places of our lives.<\/p>\n In fleshing out this first act of the sermon on \u201cJesus prayed in a certain place,\u201d we can reflect on the fact that the gospels depict Jesus in prayer. In Matthew\u2019s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount (6:5-9) and, in chapter 14, after he feeds the 5,000; Jesus dismisses the crowds and his disciples and goes up on a mountain by himself to pray. (14:23) Jesus is also depicted as praying at key junctures in Mark\u2019s Gospel (6:46; 14:32); and the gospel of John includes Jesus\u2019 impassioned, eloquent prayer for his disciples in chapter 17.<\/p>\n But Luke, more than any of the other evangelists, emphasizes Jesus\u2019 prayer life as a model for ours. At all the decisive moments in his ministry in Luke\u2019s account, Jesus is at prayer. This is a not so subtle hint with a capital \u201cH\u201d that we are to do the same.<\/p>\n At his baptism: <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNow when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.\u201d (Luke 3:21-22)<\/p>\n Before he searches the hearts of the disciples about his identity<\/p>\n \u201cOne day when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, \u2018Who do the crowds say that I am?\u2019\u201d (9:18)<\/p>\n Before his Transfiguration:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNow about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.\u201d (9:29)<\/p>\n At Gethsemane:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, \u2018Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.\u201d \u00a0Then he withdrew from them about a stone\u2019s throw, knelt down and prayed,\u2026\u201d (Luke 22:39-41) <\/strong>As I read on in the text I noticed that Jesus offers the pattern of the Lord\u2019s Prayer. Though I have read this prayer many times, and read many commentary entries explicating its various clauses, this time was different. This time, in reading it, something hit me at an emotional, not just an intellectual level. It will probably sound quite obvious to you, but here it is. The Lord\u2019s Prayer reflects the pattern of Jesus\u2019 own life of prayer with God. This prayer is an invitation to us into that prayer life that the Son of God shares with God the Creator.<\/p>\n <\/strong>I started thinking about the request \u201cTeach us to pray.\u201d I started wondering how people who were the top talents in their field learned to do what they do. Somebody must have got them started.<\/p>\n I typed questions into my web browser. \u201cWho taught Elvis Presley to play the guitar? Who taught Babe Ruth to hit? Who taught Marian Anderson to sing?\u201d<\/p>\n Elvis\u2019 minister at The First Assembly of God Church in East Tupelo, Mississippi, Brother Frank Smith, taught Elvis how to make a D chord, an A chord and an E chord, all he needed to play \u2018Ole Shep.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/strong>From the age of 7-19, baseball great \u201cBabe\u201d Ruth lived at an orphanage in Baltimore, Maryland called St. Mary\u2019s Industrial School for Boys. A priest at the school, Brother Matthias Boutlier, first introduced Ruth to the game of baseball. He became a father figure in Ruth\u2019s life, teaching him how to read and write, and worked with Ruth on hitting, fielding and as his skills progressed, pitching.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/strong>Marian Anderson, (1897-1993), American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century, credited her Aunt Mary with encouraging her to sing. Both Marian\u2019s parents were devout <\/span>Christians<\/span><\/a> and the whole family was highly active in the <\/span>Union Baptist Church<\/span><\/a> in South Philadelphia. Marian\u2019s Aunt Mary was particularly active in the church\u2019s musical life and, noticing her niece\u2019s talent, convinced her to join the junior church <\/span>choir<\/span><\/a> at the age of six. As a part of the choir she got to perform solos and duets, often with Aunt Mary who also had a fine voice. Marian was also taken by her aunt to concerts at local churches, the YMCA, and other community music events throughout the city. Anderson credited her aunt\u2019s influence as the reason she pursued a singing career.<\/span><\/p>\n Since I was on a roll, I typed in \u201cWho taught Jesus to pray?\u201d The Wiki Answer page popped up. The answer to the question was \u201cJesus was God in human form. He already knew how to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he would seem to be the perfect authority to whom to go! The disciples made a good call to consult with him.<\/p>\n Luke\u2019s form of the Lord\u2019s Prayer is shorter than Matthew\u2019s. They may both originate from the Q source, but the congregation probably won\u2019t be interested in a 10 minute debate about this. They\u2019d be more nourished by learning that Jesus prayed in a certain way that is a model for our praying.<\/p>\n Luke begins \u201cFather,\u201d rather than Matthew\u2019s more formal \u201cOur Father in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n This reflects the Palestinian custom of addressing a parent in a family setting directly and is a more personal, intimate form of address. Viewing God as father is certainly present in the Hebrew Scriptures (Exodus 4:22-23; Hosea 11:1). Jesus made it a central emphasis in his prayer life with God. (Into God\u2019s Presence<\/em>, 140) \u201cJesus was saying \u2018father\u2019 to God in an unusual and startlingly intimate way. \u00a0For the early Christians, saying \u2018Father\u2019 in prayer was more than simply repeating the word after Jesus. It took them to the very heart of \u2026Jesus\u2019 own awareness of God.\u201d (Tinsley 124)<\/p>\n \u201cHallowed be your name:\u201d<\/p>\n The theme of the hallowing of God\u2019s name is prominent in Jewish Kaddish prayers. Kaddish<\/em> is from an Aramaic word meaning \u2018holy.\u2019 A Kaddish is a responsive prayer that takes many forms in Jewish worship. It often includes these words \u201cExalted and hallowed be his great name in the world which he created according to his will.\u201d (Marshall 457)<\/p>\n The name of a person in the Hebrew Scriptures meant far more than just a label. It connoted their character, family background, social status, race, and nationality. So with God, God\u2019s name conveys God\u2019s character and mystery and activity in the history and experience of the Jewish people. To hallow God\u2019s name is to show reverence to all God is, has done, does, and promises to do. This reverence is the background for Jesus\u2019 objection to being called good (18:19) \u201cWhy do you call me good? No one is good but God alone,\u201d and his objection to swearing (Mt 5:33-37). (Tinsley 124)<\/p>\n \u201cHallowed be your name\u201d involves a petition to God to act to bring about a situation in which people will reverence God\u2019s name and regard it as holy as well as an exhortation to the one praying to honor God\u2019s holiness (Isaiah 8:13; 29:23; Ezekiel 36:36) (Marshall, 457)<\/p>\n \u201cYour kingdom come\u201d<\/p>\n This theme also appears in Kaddish prayers: \u201cMay he let his kingdom rule in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the whole house of Israel speedily and soon.\u201d(Marshall 457)<\/p>\n To pray this phrase is not just to recite words, but to invoke the presence and power of God\u00a0 as the one praying seeks to be an agent of bringing God\u2019s kingdom to bear in daily life.<\/p>\n Jesus was convinced that the kingdom of God had been inaugurated in his teachings, healings, exorcisms, and miracles. \u201cIf it is by the power of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you\u201d(11:20). To pray \u201cyour kingdom come\u201d is to put ourselves at the service of the promised reign of God.<\/p>\n I would never start a sermon with \u201cWebster\u2019s dictionary defines the word \u2018certain\u2019\u00a0 as\u2026.\u201d That\u2019s too boring and predictable. Like the opening of a high school public speaking assignment.<\/p>\n But I do look words up in my online dictionary\/thesaurus to get the nuances that can shape the theme of a sermon. In this case, I found that \u2018certain\u2019\u00a0 derives from the Latin certus<\/em>, to determine.<\/p>\n The variety of words that can render the nuances of certain caused that \u201cI think this will preach\u201d hair standing up on the back of the neck for me. \u201cDependable. Definite. Fixed. Inescapable. Sure to come or happen. Inevitable. To be relied upon. Assured. Confident.\u201d<\/p>\n The final three petitions of Luke\u2019s version of the Lord\u2019s Prayer convey Jesus\u2019 certain faith in God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n \u201cGive us each day our daily bread. \u201c This phrase draws on the imagery of manna in the wilderness which was gathered each day and was sufficient for that day. It evokes images of Jesus\u2019 own feeding of the multitudes and his experience of God\u2019s Word feeding him so that he didn\u2019t need to turn stones into loaves when tempted to do so by Satan. We can pray with certain faith that God will provide for our daily needs.<\/p>\n \u201cForgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. \u201c We are to live and pray seeking to model our lives on Jesus\u2019 treatment of those who wronged him, as it partakes of the forgiving character of God.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd do not bring us to the time of trial.\u201d This phrase carries the double meaning of strengthening us to avoid temptation and sustaining us in unavoidable hardships.<\/p>\n\n
Act One: Jesus prayed \u201cin a certain place. \u201c (11:1)<\/h3>\n
\n<\/p>\nAct Two: Jesus prayed in a certain way<\/h3>\n
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Act Three: Jesus Prayed with Certain Faith<\/h3>\n